Man Arrested At West Front, Charged With Unregistered Firearm Possession

The Capitol Police on Sunday afternoon arrested a man and accused him of possessing unregistered guns and ammunition on Capitol grounds.

At approximately 12:48 p.m., 59-year-old Ty Carroll Mitchum of Clearwater, Fla., was apprehended at the West Front after a search of his car revealed “three firearms and several rounds of ammunition,” spokesman and Officer Shennell Antrobus said in an evening news release.

According to the release, Mitchum volunteered to officers that he had weapons in his vehicle and allowed a search. He was arrested without incident and charged with possession of an unregistered firearm and possession of unregistered ammunition. D.C. law prohibits individuals from carrying concealed weapons or having weapons that have not been registered.

The Capitol Police’s weekly rundown of crime includes arrests for drunk driving, traffic violations, protests at hearings and sometimes possession of unregistered firearms. Rarely, however, do the circumstances of an arrest prompt the agency to announce it to the public.

Antrobus would not comment further on Sunday’s incident, specifically whether Mitchum’s behavior aroused suspicion that he intended to do real harm. As for why a news release was circulated, Antrobus said it was meant in part to alert “the Capitol Hill community that the agency always has [its] safety in mind.”